Image of Comet C/2007 F1 (LONEOS) from 7:26 pm MDT this evening, a couple minutes before it disappeared behind a neighbors roof. The comet appears quite large and bright in the TV zoom eyepiece at 24mm, maybe somewhat bluish. I did not see a tail, though there is a hint of one in the below image. Image taken with Canon Xti, 20 sec exposure at ISO1600, F6.3 focal reducer, Celestron Nexstar11 scope.
Probably a better chance tomorrow with clearing skies, Oct 22 at 6:30:12 pm. It appears in the NW and disappears in the ESE at 6:35:35 pm (-1.7 magnitude).
Another chance on Tues Oct 23 it appears at 6:52:59 in the WNW and disappears in the SE at 6:58:38 (magnitude -2).
This week the Sun rises at 7:19 am to 7:26 am MDT and sets 6:15 pm to 6:07 pm MDT. No regions are currently visible (Sunday). Solar activity is expected to remain at very low levels this week.
The Moon will be full on Thursday, Oct 25 at 10:51 pm.
Mercury is not visible.
Venus shines brilliantly at magnitude -4.4 before sunrise, high up in constellation Leo; it rises around 3:30 am. It appears in a telescope as a third quarter moon.
Mars rises around 10:11-9:54 pm MDT in constellation Gemini. By Saturday it will -0.5 magnitude in brightness, 11.7 arc sec across, and 90% illuminated. The best time to view Mars is when it is high up around 2 am. Early in the week Mare Cimmerium will be near center view with Mare Tyrrhenum to the right. Later in the week the martian features the features Mare Serenum will be near center. See Sky and Telescope’s Mars profiler for other times and additional information.
Jupiter is the brightest object low in the SW after sunset at magnitude -1.9. It sets around 8:30 pm.
Saturn rises in the ENE around 2:35 am and is located above Venus. It is magnitude 0.7 in brightness.
Uranus is in constellation Aquarius, magnitude 5.8, and 3.5 arc-sec in diameter.
Neptune is in constellation Capricornus, magnitude 7.9, and 2.5 arc-sec in diameter.
Not this week.
Comet C/2007 F1 (Loneos) is currently magnitude 6. Unfortunately it very low to the horizon, in the northeast before dawn and in the northwest just after sunset. It rises around 5 am and sets shortly after 8 pm. For more information, finder charts etc, see http://www.cometchasing.skyhound.com/ or http://aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html .
This week the Sun rises at 7:12 am to 7:18 am MDT and sets 6:25 pm to 6:17 pm MDT. No regions are currently visible (Sunday). Solar activity is expected to remain at very low levels this week.
The Moon transitions to first quarter phase which occurs on Fri. Oct. 19 at 02:33 am MDT.
Mercury is lost in the sunset glow, setting only about 20 minutes after sunset.
Venus shines brilliantly at magnitude -4.4 before sunrise, high up in constellation Leo; it rises around 3:30 am. It appears in a telescope as a thin crescent.
Mars rises around 10:15-10:30 pm MDT in constellation Gemini. By Saturday it will -0.4 magnitude in brightness, 11 arc sec across, and 89% illuminated. The best time to view Mars is when it is high up around 2 am. Early in the week Syrtus Major will be near center view with Mare Tyrrhenum to the left and Mare Serpentis to the right.Later in the week the martian features the features Mare Cimmerium will be near center view with Mare Tyrrhenum to the right. See Sky and Telescope’s Mars profiler for other times and additional information.
Jupiter is the brightest object in the SW after sunset at magnitude -1.8. It sets around 9 pm.
Saturn rises in the ENE around 3 am and is located above Venus. It is magnitude 0.7 in brightness.
Uranus is in constellation Aquarius, magnitude 5.8, and 3.6 arc-sec in diameter.
Neptune is in constellation Capricornus, magnitude 7.9, and 2.5 arc-sec in diameter.
The Moon interfers with our evening views of the night sky this weekend. This week is good time to view the Moon as the shadows enhance contrast of domes, craters, and rilles.
This week is still an excellent time for watching for meteors. The Moon does not interfer with prime time views in early morning. Expect to see about 4 per hour before midnight and around 20 per hour a few hours before sunrise. There are several active radiants such as the Taurids, Draconids, Delta Aurigids. The Draconids peaked on Oct 9 and the Orionids meteor shower peaks on Oct 21. See http://www.amsmeteors.org/ for more information about observing meteors. Also checkout the Astroleague meteor club at http://www.astroleague.org/al/obsclubs/meteor/metrcl.html
Comet C/2007 F1 (Loneos) is currently magnitude 6.4 and should reach magnitude 4 in a few days. Unfortunately it very low to the horizon, in the northeast before dawn and in the northwest just after sunset. It rises around 5 am and sets shortly after 8 pm. On Thursday it will be located just to the right of 2.7 magnitude star 8 Bootes (Mufrid). On Saturday it will be 4 degrees below and slightly left of -0.04 magnitude star Arcturus. For more information, finder charts etc, see http://www.cometchasing.skyhound.com/ or http://aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html .
Highlights
International Space Station
Monday Oct 8 the ISS rises in the West at 7:24:47 pm and disappears in the NNE at 7:29:32 pm (magnitude -0.2)
This week the Sun rises at 7:04 am to 7:11 am MDT and sets 6:36 pm to 6:27 pm MDT. One small region 10972 is visble on the Sun’s disk today (Sunday), just west of center disk. See http://raben.com/maps/ for current location. Solar activity is expected to remain at very low levels this week.
The Moon is new on Fri. Oct. 10 at 11:01 pm MDT.
Mercury is still around but mostly lost in the sunset glow, setting only about 20 minutes after sunset.
Venus shines brilliantly at magnitude -4.4 before sunrise, high up in constellation Leo; it rises around 3:30 am. It appears in a telescope as a thin crescent.
Mars rises around 10 pm MDT in constellation Gemini. By Saturday it will -0.3 magnitude in brightness, 10.5 arc sec across, and 87% illuminated. The best time to view Mars is when it is high up around 2 am. Early in the week the martian features the features Sinus Sabeus, Sinus Meridiani, and Mare Erythraeum are in our view around that time. Later in the week Syrtus Major will be in the center view with Mare Tyrrhenum and Mare Serpentis visible as well. See Sky and Telescope’s Mars profiler for other times and additional information.
Jupiter is the brightest object in the SW after sunset at magnitude -1.8. For us in the Denver area, its down low in the turbulence over the mountains so its tough to see much detail other than a band or two. It sets before 9:30 pm.
Saturn rises in the ENE just before 4 am and is located just below and left of star Regulus in constellation Leo. It is magnitude 0.7 in brightness.
Uranus is in constellation Aquarius, magnitude 5.8, and 3.6 arc-sec in diameter.
Neptune is in constellation Capricornus, magnitude 7.9, and 2.5 arc-sec in diameter.
Here is a list of objects to take a look at this weekend.
Galaxies
M31 (mag 3.4), M32 (mag 8.1), M110 in Andromeda
M33 in Triangulum (mag 5.7)
NGC 7331 in Pegasus (mag 9.5)
Near NGC 7331 is Stephan’s quintet in Pegasus. You’ll need at 10 inch or larger scope to see them all. The quintet of galaxies is NGC 7317 (mag 14.7), 7318A (mag 14.3), 7318B (mag 14), 7319 (mag 14.2), & 7320 (mag 13.3).
NGC 7479 (mag 11)
Nebula
The ‘Ring Nebula’ M57 (mag 8.8) in Lyra
The ‘Snow Globe Nebula’, NGC 6781 in Aquila (mag 11.4)
NGC 6804 (mag 12) in Aquila
The ‘Blinking Planetary’, NGC 6826 in Cygnus
The ‘Dumbbel Nebula’, M27 (mag 7.3) in Vulpecula
NGC 6894 (mag 12.3) in Cygnus
The ‘Helix Nebula’, NGC 7293 in Aquarius
The ‘Blue Snowball’, NGC 7354 in Cygnus
Globular Clusters
M2 in Aquarius (class 2)
M15 (mag 7.3) in Pegasus
NGC 6981 (mag 9.2) in Aquarius
M30 (mag 6.9) in Capricornus
This weekend will be an excellent time for watching meteors. Activity picks up this month compared to September. Early in the evening expect to see about 4 per hour and about 15 per hour around 5 am. Sporadic rates (meteors not associated with a particular radiant) peak this month. There are several active radiants such as the Taurids, Draconids, Delta Aurigids. The Draconids peak on Oct 9 and the Orionids meteor shower peak on Oct 21.
Here is a list of asteroids brighter than magnitude +11, positions are for Oct 13 at 10:30 pm.
Name Const RA DEC Mag
1 Ceres TAU 03:29:40 +08 50′20″ 7.8
2 Pallas AQR 22:05:11 -04 05′17″ 9.4
6 Hebe HYA 08:52:40 +10 26′49″ 10.5
8 Flora TAU 04:10:09 +10 35′23″ 8.7
10 Hygiea PSC 00:21:28 +08 13′27″ 10.3
12 Victoria PEG 00:35:23 +14 49′46″ 9.4
13 Egeria PSC 01:24:10 -03 25′52″ 10.3
14 Irene TAU 04:41:54 +15 39′27″ 11.0
15 Eunomia CNC 07:35:48 +27 49′38″ 9.8
29 Amphitrite TAU 03:49:50 +27 18′04″ 9.5
30 Urania AQR 22:21:15 -07 37′17″ 10.7
40 Harmonia CAP 20:39:46 -23 15′43″ 11.0
Comet C/2007 F1 (Loneos) is currently magnitude 7.2 and visible in binoculars. It may become as bright as magnitude +4. Unfortunately it very low to the horizon, in the northeast before dawn and in the northwest just after sunset and may be tough to spot. It rises around 5 am and sets around 8 pm. For more information, finder charts etc, see http://www.cometchasing.skyhound.com/ or http://aerith.net/comet/weekly/current.html .